Backwoods
by Ellie-Ohhh
Summary: She gazed into his stormy eyes, a smirk playing on her full lips. Her arms wound around his neck, her hands playing idly with his curls. He sighed. He would never be able to tell her no, he had figured that out a long time ago. Johnny/Alli.
1. Backwoods Living

Don't lie. You are all terribly obsessed with Johnny and Alli just as much as I am. And there is not enough 'Jalli' fiction out there people.

Soo, here is the first chapter, I'm working on the next one as you read this. Tell me what you think. Thoughts, ideas, flames, I adore them all.

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He watched her as she got up from her position on the bed and walked out of the room to the bathroom. Her long legs seemed to never end and her long dark tousled hair in a messy bun. She wore a pair of his plaid blue boxers, he swore they had never looked that good on him, and her tight t-shirt. The ever present fact that she wasn't wearing a bra showed, and he thought he could handle that fact, until he felt the stirring in his loins that told him otherwise.

He thought back to how it all began and how they ended up here, in the present. Where he was currently laying on his bed in only a pair of boxers and the bedsheets crumpled all around him. He could hear music from the bathroom and the sound of the shower running, he sighed thinking about the hot water running all over her naked body. God, how he wished he was that water.

He ran a hand over his face, was he really jealous of...water?

Damn, he was pathetic. But he couldn't help it, she was just so ridiculously tempting, looking up at him from those thick lashes, the smirk on her plush lips. He knew that he'd never be able to tell her no. He figured that out a long time ago.

It had been almost two years since their night in the ravine, since they both lost their virginity and almost their relationship. Johnny graduated, one of the first in his family, and Alli was a Junior at Degrassi. Their relationship wasn't public, but it wasn't a secret either. The only people who really seemed not to know was their parents. Her family would never let them be together, if it wasn't because of the age difference then it would be because of her heritage and religion. He had told his mother about her, she had met Alli a few time and took her quite instantly. She knew that if he was bringing someone to meet her, it would've had to been serious. He never really stuck around long enough for anyone to meet his mother, knowing this she over looked the age gap.

His mother, he loved her dearly. She was the only reason he did so well in school, the only reason he didn't end up like his father, the only reason he had this apartment in the first place. It wasn't the nicest of apartments or the largest but she had found it for him, even going as far as paying the first months rent so he could "get on his feet", as she had put it. His father was another story altogether. Abusive, drunk, loud, lazy, were a few adjectives that could describe the sloth of a human he was forced to call father. If he was lucky, Alli would never have to meet him and be subjected to his cruel words and harsh tendencies. No, he would never put his Alli through that.

Speaking of which, this phone began to buzz loudly on the nightstand next to his bed, he rolled over and grabbed it. It was like this woman had a sixth sense or something, she knew he was thinking about her. He answered the phone, "Hi, Mom."

"Hi, sweetheart. Good morning, or should I say, Good afternoon?"

"Whats up Mom?"

"What, a Mother can't call her son on a Saturday just to say hello?"

He sighed, he was about to respond to his mother with a sarcastic remark about how mothers never just called to say 'hi', but he found his mouth went dry and his mind blank, all because a certain Alli Bhandari walked into the room wearing nothing but one of his threadbare towels.

Her long hair was sopping wet, dripping onto her already wet skin. The towel ending at the tops of her thighs, leaving most of her long legs bare. He felt his breathing go ragged at the sigh of her like that. They had kept true to their promise, they wouldn't have sex again until they were both ready. That had been almost two years ago, and for the most part he found he could handle it, then times like these rolled along and he wasn't so sure anymore.

Time had been well to Alliah Bhandari, she was no longer sweet sixteen with her birthday in only a few days. Her hair was a little longer, more tousled, mostly on his behalf, but just as black. She wasnt exceptionally tall for a girl, but it seemed as though she was all legs, like they never ended. He watched as she stepped into her underwear, still wearing the towel.

His mother had continued chatting to him, his silence gone unnoticed. He wasn't the most talkative of people, he usually kept to himself, observing. She bent over to pick up a bra off the floor, before walking over to the dresser with her things in it and taking out different articles of clothing and placing them on the end of the bed. It was then she dropped the towel, with her back to him. His pale eyes searched over the expanse of her back, how her long hair tickled her waist, over the roundness of her ass and down the back of her legs. He watched as she put her bra on before turning around and picking up her shirt off the bed. His eyes were drawn to her chest, yes, if there was any proof that she was not fourteen anymore it was those two perfect globes of flesh.

His eyes greedily looked over the swell of her full, perky breasts, down her curves, her flat stomach, the protruding of her hipbones, to the lacy snatch of material she wore over her center. Her excuse for undressing and dressing in front of him was simple, he had already seen her naked once, so it was nothing new. He should've felt happy she was so comfortable around him, but he knew that she reveled in the fact that she had power over him. She liked his attentions, his quiet stares from across the room. She looked good to him in just about anything she wore, he'd proved that countless times, but if she could he'd want to see her dressed in as little to no clothing all the time. It was his mother's voice that brought him out of his lust-filled subconscious.

"Johnny...Johnny, are you still there?"

He coughed, "Yeah, Ma' I'm still here." his voice was gruff and low, it was then Alli looked up at him from putting her shirt on.

"So, it settled then?"

His brow furrowed in confusion. "Whats settled?"

He heard his Mother let out a sigh. "Can you stop gazing at Alliah for one minute and listen to me."

He stiffened at his Mother's response. How the hell did she know everything?!

"I asked you if you would come over later and fix the sink, its broken again."

He rubbed a hand over his face and let out a sigh. "Yeah, I'll be by later to fix it."

"Wonderful!" his mother gushed. "Oh, and make sure you bring Alli along, I haven't seen her in a while and we need to catch up."

He rolled his pale eyes, he hated when his Mother and Alli got all giddy and gossip-y. "I'll see what shes doing and if she wants to come."

"Alright John, call me before you come over. Love you."

"Love you too." He hung up his cell and threw it somewhere to the left of him.

Alli stopped getting dressed and looked at him. His arm slung over his eyes, his curly blond hair spread out on the pillow, his long pale torso, the slight outlined muscles of his stomach, the trail of fine blond hair that went from his belly button to below his boxers. She glanced him up and down greedily, he was hers, no one else's.

She was very much in love with him, she knew it was only a matter of time before they had to tell her parents, but she tried to think of that as little as possible. She basically lived in his apartment, her clothes were strewn around everywhere, her makeup and soap were in the bathroom. She kept all of her school close at his place and would come before and after school to change. She had told her parents she had joined various clubs and after school activities that would keep her late, she "slept over" Clare's often, really staying at Johnny's.

She put down the jeans in her hands and climbed up his body on the bed. She settled with her legs straddling his narrow waist, her chest pressed to his, her head in the crook of his neck.

"What did your Mom say?" She placed feather light kisses along his jawline and down his neck.

He let out what seemed to be somewhere between a soft growl and a moan at her ministrations. "She needs me to come over and fix the sink again, and she wants you to come so she can get her fill of drama and gossip." He wrapped his arm around her waist and removed his other arm from his eyes to her waist as well.

"Alright, I just have to call my parents and let them know Clare and I are going to study rigorously for our Chemistry test next week so I'll be staying over again." She kissed him languidly, nibbling on his bottom lip. "Then maybe after we go to your Mom's we can com back here and do some studying of our own..."

The playfulness of her voice mixed with the intensity from his stare was coming off in waves. His grip on her hips tightened as he rolled over so she was pinned beneath him. He took her hands in his and brought them up above her head, holding them there. He pressed his hips to hers and she let out a delighted gasp. "Are you sure that's such a good idea Backwoods?"

She rolled her eyes at the nickname, hooking a leg around his waist and pushing her hips up to meet his. "Shut up DiMarco, and kiss me." Not needed to be told twice his mouth descended on hers, it wasn't soft or slow, it was intense and passionate. He parted her mouth with his tongue and started to kiss her more heatedly. She didn't complain, she obligated by sweeping her own tongue over the inside of his mouth. His hips ground into hers and there was no doubt in either of their minds what Johnny was feeling at the moment, with him in nothing but a pair of boxers and her in a t-shirt and underwear it would be so easy to just submit to one another.

Just because they weren't having sex, didn't mean they were pristine. They had done many things to please each other, mostly in the last few months, unknowingly preparing for what would be their next time. They were completely comfortable with one another, they loved each other, but most importantly they trusted each other, three things they had definitely been lacking their first time.

He ground his hips into hers more fiercely than before, making her back arch up into him and a moan escape her mouth. He moved his mouth from hers over her jaw and down the column of her neck, sucking on her pulse joint. A deep moan came from her as she clenched her fists and arched her hips more to meet Johnny's. In turn his hands tightened around her wrists and a growl escaped against her neck from the friction their hips were causing. She fit him so perfectly, it even amazed him. How a girl almost four years his junior had wormed her way into his heart, he'd never know, but now he couldn't imagine his life without her.

"John-ney."

She dragged out the syllables of his name as his teeth scraped over the sensitive area of her neck. Hearing her breathlessly moan out his name was sending his mind into overdrive, he unintentionally thrust his hips harshly into hers. What he recieved was a sharp intake of breath and a loud moan. With his breathing erratic and a painful throbbing in his boxers he decided that this would be the time to pull away. He let go of her wrists and started to push himself up, when her hands grabbed his shoulders, bringing him back down.

"And, where exactly, do you think your going?"

He sighed. "Alli, you and I both know now would be the time to stop."

She pouted, grabbing a fist full of his curls, bringing his mouth down barely inches from her own. "I don't think so." She lightly placed a kiss on his eager lips, he deepened it, running his hands down her body. He pushed her shirt up, not missing an inch of smooth skin, and ran his hands all around her.

He broke the kiss agian, "Alli...Alli, stop."

She looked up at him through her long lashes, swiveling her hips against his. "Jesus Johnny, I can never get you to talk this much. Now when I actually want you to shut up you wont. Tell me, how back words does that logic sound?"

He took a deep breath, "I'm just trying to be for real about this."

"Do you want to stop. Honestly?"

His gaze bore deep into hers. "No." Her voice was fierce, "Then don't."

He closed his eyes for a moment, his jaw clenched, dragging out another deep breath. "You know, as much as I would _love_ to ravish you right now, we don't have the time for it. We have to get to my Mother's at some point today, and the time it would take to worship every inch of you would take more time then we have."

This was the reason why she didn't force him to speak when he didn't want to. She always joked around about the fact that she did most of the talking for the both of them, and for the most part it was true. He was quiet in front of people he wasn't particularly comfortable with, but when he was with her, he could be himself. No bad boy image to uphold, even if he was indeed a real bad boy, he had a sweet side that he kept strictly for her and sometimes his Mother.

But it was when he said things like that to her, that she really knew she loved him. Most guys would pull off some line that sounded like that just so they could get into a girls pants. But with Johnny, it was genuine. He made her body hum with excitement, pleasure rippling through her, she didn't want to walk away from this, but the way he just declined her ever present offer just sounded to good. She pouted a little, but her toes curled at the thought of him 'ravishing' her. Soon, it would be soon.

"Well, when you put it like that." She sighed. "Fine, but you owe my body one good ravishing."

She unhooked her legs from around his waist, untangled her hand from his mess of blond curls, and slid out from beneath him. He got up after her and tortuously watched as she shimmed out of her panties. She threw them at him and picked up a new pair and pulled them on, then her jeans. He caught them effortlessly, once in his hand he realized, they were soaked. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose. "Here, you can have those. Oh, and you might want to take care of _that_." He opened his eyes to see her glancing down at the front of his increasingly tight boxers. He didn't have to look to see what she was staring at, he wasn't embarrassed. It was because of her he was like this. She should be proud, no one aroused him quite like she did.

"You wanna take care of it for me?"

Although his voice was playful, she knew he was somewhat serious. She bit her bottom lip ass she walked over to him, her hands ran down his chest, tickling slightly. Her small hands reached the rim of his boxers, her fingers dipped under the rim, feeling the smooth skin that lie there. She traced her fingers over the indents in his hips that made a 'V' shape, dragging the piece of material down slowly. His jaw was clenched tightly, his breathing ragged, and his eyes trained solely on hers. She ran a finger up his length, slowly, teasing him. He shuddered. She grasped him fully in her hand, tugging gently as she ran her hand up him. He was hard, yet soft and quite a handful. She was about to bring her hand back down over him when his cell phone rang somewhere to the left of them.

He let out a growl of frustration and bowed his head on her shoulder, his grip on her hips tightening considerably. Her hand still clenched him, running up and down his length. "Are you going to get that?"

He nipped at her collarbone. "Not if you keep doing that Bhandari." She smirked up at him and with a final tug she removed her hands from his boxers and bent over to find that buzzing phone. He watched as she bent over, her perfect behind unknowingly testing him. He walked out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom, where the door closed with a slam and the shower was forcefully turned on, kind of like him at the moment.

Alli found the phone and answered it, sitting on th bed. "Hello?"

"Alliah?"

She let out a breath. "Hi, Mrs. DiMarco. Whats up?" The woman on the other line scoffed. "Please dear, how many times have I told you to call me Jean."

Alli smiled and let out a small laugh. "Okay, Jean. What can I do for you?" She could hear the smile in the older woman's voice. "On your way here, could you ask Johnny if he could stop and get me a gallon of milk and a thing of eggs? I'm fresh out and I can't make dinner with out it, and you are staying for dinner, aren't you."

It wasnt so much a question, but more of a demand. Alli smiled, "Ofcourse Mrs...Jean, I'll stay for dinner."

"Good. I'll see you too soon. Bye now."

"Bye, Jean."

Alli hung up the phone and flopped back on the bed. She could hear Johnny in the shower, she had an itch to go in there and hop in with him, but she erased that thought from her mind. It had been two years since they first had sex. Two freakin' years. Sure she hadn't really been ready until a couple of months ago, but still two years was a long time to wait. She had thought about it recently, and all that came to her mind was 'poor Johnny'. He was a overly hormonal teenage boy, he had needs. Yet, thinking back on it, he was the one that pulled away every time. What did that mean? Was he not interested in having sex with her? Or, was he simply just a gentleman underneath his outer bad boy front.

She ran a hand through her long hair, thinking about Johnny and the past two years. Johnny had changed, if only slightly. His hair was the same length it had been, a little blonder and a little curlier. He was taller, with a little more muscle. His shoulders were broad without being bulky, his waist still narrow, his legs long. He was still just as quiet as he had always been, usually only speaking when spoken to. He was more playful with her now, but still the voice of reason. She sometimes felt so young around him, her four years showing. He drank and smoked, partied with his friends. She didn't mind, as long as he told her; she even partied with him and Bruce the Moose a few times. His friends had accepted the fact he was dating a girl so much younger than them, mostly because he threatened them and she had glared at them fiercely, making sarcastic remarks at them. She just didn't like to feel that way around him, like he could find someone his age that he had more in common with.

It scared her.

She had found out quite a few things about him that she was sure no one knew but her and things she had just never known. Like the fact that he had an excellent singing voice, when she could get him to actually sing for her anyway. He adored pool, and was pretty decent at it too, the times she had went with him to the pool hall and watched him play. He could fix virtually anything if he had the proper tools, which was why he worked in an auto body shop. He loved to read, English was his best subject, which had surprised her at first. A bad guy, who worked as a mechanic, fought people, and...got 'A's' in English? Like, what? Sure his family lived in the worst part of town, he got into fights and did bad stuff, but he was in no way stupid. He was one of the most intelligent people she knew.

He was still angsty, he probably always would be, it was just his nature. She liked when he stared her with those stormy eyes. His pale blue-green eyes always clouded over when he was thinking of something innapropiate, or looking at her. She always knew she looked good when she saw that look in his eyes. When he was angry, they turned a gray colour, when he was happy they were blue, when he was sad they were green. She had memorized his every detail, not wanting to ever forget a thing about her first love.

He walked in the room, a towel hazardously place low on his thin hips. His wet curls weighed down by water, his face clean shaved. She stood up and walked over to him, where he was taking clean clothes out of the dresser. She stopped behind him, running her hands down his back before wrapping them around his waist, resting her head on his back.

He placed his hand ontop of her folded ones, wound around his stomach. "Yes?"

"You...you, don't care that I'm seventeen, right."

He turned around to face her, "Almost seventeen, and obviously not Bhandari. Why?"

She looked down at their hands still entwined, finding them interesting at the moment. "No reason. I, I was just thinking..."

He silenced her with a gentle kiss, forcing her eyes to look at him when he pulled away. "Alli, I think its pretty obvious how I feel about you. It didn't stop me from dating a niner, so it isn't going to stop me now."

She smiled up at him, "Okay." she kissed him again. "Oh, and your Mom needs up to pick up milk and eggs for her on the way."

Johnny rolled his eyes, turning back around to pick up his clothes off the dresser. "Hurry up Johnny, we don't have all day." Her tone was teasing and he couldn't help but smile at her.

Sure, it wouldve been easier to date a girl his age, his "type". Poor, agnsty, rocker, who had bad habits and a even worse home life. But he never was one to take the easy route, so he chose to stick with this younger girl, who made his heart flutter and his body react.

He was in love with her.

And that scared the shit out of him. But he was never one to back down from a challenge, so until she told him otherwise, he was in it for the long haul.


	2. Meet 'n Greet

Hey there. I just want to thank everyone who reviewed this story the first time and to let you know why your confused about your reviews not showing up. Well fanfiction, being its loevly self, was malfunctioning and it wouldn't let me do anything with my story, so I deleted it and uploaded it again. But, when I did that all the reviews were lost. So if you want you can review again, bu you don't have to. Just know that I did recieve them to my email, so I read them all. Thank you all so much. I'm so glad you like this story. Ideas, comments, anything, I love 'em.

Oh, and before I forget, I might change the name of this story. I couldn't really think of one when I was writing so I just used Johnny's nickname for Alli. So, if you have any name ideas hit me up and if I like it I'll givw you credit.

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They arrived at his Mother's a little earlier than he would've liked, he wasn't sure if his little brother was home or not, and if his Mom was cooking yet. His little brother Aaron was the same age as Alli, and he had noticed Aaron's increasing stares and stormy eyes. And he did not like it one bit.

Alli was a beautiful girl, he knew that. And he also knew what having a beautiful girlfriend meant. He'd have to get over the fact that guys would leered at her, mentally undress her with their eyes. But that didn't mean he'd have to take it from his little brother.

The house he grew up in wasnt big, it was small, shabby, with three bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, livingroom, and a basement. It was an off yellow color, the shudders were once a dull blue, but the paint was so chipped it was hard to tell. The grass was yellow-green, and the driveway gravel. Houses lined the street of his neighborhood, all looking just about the same as his; worn down and mistreated. It was the lowest one could go without living in a trailer park, which they had, until Aaron was born.

Alli walked right in, seeming not to pay any mind to the state of his old living conditions, caring the bag of eggs and the gallon of milk for his Mother. He followed behind her, watching as her hips swayed with each step she took. He mentally berated himself, this was soo not the time to be thinking about the sway of her hips or the breathless pants and moans he induced from her.

"Alli! Darling!"

He looked up from where his eyes were trained on her backside to his Mother's voice. His mother was a tall slender woman, with short blond curls and wide blue eyes. He was surprised not to see her in her scrubs and in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He could see that his Mother had been quite an attractive woman when she was younger, it was no surprise his father wanted her. She had so much potential, and then got knocked up at the age of fifteen, and got married a few months later. To none other than his father, George, the abusive, alcoholic, quarterback on the high school football team. His mother was the head cheerleader who wanted to get accepted to Harvard, and his father just wanted a fun ride.

Thats how they ended up here, almost twenty years later, his mother, a nurse recently divorced, living in their once family home in the worst part of town. And his father in some big house with his rich girlfriend. Life, truly wasn't fair.

"Hi Jean." They hugged for a moment. "I have your stuff for dinner."

His mother smiled brightly at her. "Thank you dear." She turned as he started walking up the stairs to the first floor, rather than the basement where he knew his younger brother resided. "Johnny, come here." He walked over to his Mother and she enveloped him in a tight hug.

"Why is it you never come and visit me anymore?"

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Because I work Mom. I'm busy. And this girl," he threw his thumb in the direction of where Alli was sitting at the kitchen table. "takes up all my free time."

Alli scoffed and threw a carrot stick from the open bag on the kitchen table at him. He smiled and let out a chuckle as it hit him in the head. He turned to her and opened his mouth wide, and attempted to catch carrot sticks in his mouth as Alli threw them.

Jean smiled. She had never seen her oldest son this happy, this playful, before Alli, he was withdrawn, brooding, a troublemaker. Not that he wasn't now, but Alli seemed to bring out the best in her son, a side of him she hadn't seen since he was a little boy. Even then he was reclusive, she blamed it all on her ex-husband. He had verbally and physically abused them since the time Aaron was born, Johnny was four and she was nineteen. He had changed after they had gotten married and she got pregnant for the second time. But, she was rid of him now, it only took her seventeen years and she was sorry she took that long. Her boys had deserved nothing of what they got and she would make sure they were never mistreated again.

She shook her head out of her reverie. "So, Johnny, are you gonna fix my sink or what?" He turned and rolled his eyes at his mother, grabbing his tool kit, walking over to the sink.

"I dont understand why you cant just get Aaron to do anything around here."

Jean sat down across from Alli, "Oh, Johnny, you know hes not good at this kind of stuff. Hes into Science and things."

Johnny sighed at the excuses his Mother made for his lazy little brother. "Mom, if he can build a robot as a niner, I'm sure hes capable of learning how to fix a sink." After inspecting the sink, turning the water on and off, checking the drain. He took off his vest and pulled his good shirt over his head, then dropped to the floor on his back and went underneath the counter where the sink was placed, checking the pipes.

Alli stared at the half of him showing from under the sink. She couldn't help but stare as he reached for something, effectively pulling his wife beater up, showing off his pale skin. Jean started talking to her, shaking her out of her gaze. "So, Alli, your birthdays coming up, isn't that right?"

Alli smiled at her, picking up a knife and helping her cut up the vegatables for dinner. "That would be correct, seventeen in about a week."

Jean smiled brightly. "Seventeen...a good year." She turned in the direction of where Johnny was, still half hidden. "That wasn't such a bad year for you, was it Johnny."

Johnny rolled his eyes, even though no one could see it, effectively killing the purpose. "Well, lets see, my school burnt down and I was forced to transfer, I beat up a number of kids, watched as some kid got stabbed, got myself beat up by a guy with cancer and watched as it got put on the Internet, then at the end of my seventeenth year I got seduced by a niner."

He stuck his head out from under the sink, "You are so lucky I have a late birthday, or else this wouldve been so much more illegal." he watched her roll her dark eyes and shake her head. "So, yeah Mom, I guess all and all it was a pretty good year." His words were sarcastic but Alli knew he didnt mean it in a cruel way. He was lightly telling his Mother how little she really knew about his life, and although it sounded harsh, he was really attempting not to be.

"Well aren't you just a little smart ass." Jean took a carrot stick and threw it at his stomach, laughing slightly.

Alli glared at him, even though he couldn't see it. "And I didn't seduce you. I simply knew what I wanted and pursued it. And you know if I hadn't, you would still be sitting at the ravine with Bruce, lonely and unloved."

Her voice gave an air of 'so there' finality. Jean had to bite the inside of her lip to keep from laughing too hard. They really were something interesting to watch, she couldn't wait to see what they would say to each other next. They were sarcastic and quirky, unconventional at best, but if one looked hard enough, then it was clear as day how much they cared each other.

Jean looked out the doorway of the kitchen, to the stairs, where she heard loud voices and the thundering of footsteps bounding up them.

"Uhh, no. If Buffy and Faith were to get into a super sexy showdown, Buffy would totally slay some ass."

"See, this is where I begin to doubt your judgement as a human and a male. Have you seen Faith? She's hot, she's brawlic, and, she's never had sex with a vamp so, no worries about her preferring the uncooked sausage to yours bro."

They walked into the kitchen, barely noticing anyone but them, that was until Jeans cough of 'ehem' stopped their inappropriate conversation. "Oh, hey John, I didn't even know you were here." He looked to the table where his mother and Allie sat cutting up vegetables. "Of course, you brang Bollywood." he mock bowed. "Nice to see you again M'lady."

Alli rolled her dark eyes at him. "Bite me." Aaron leaned against the fridge, her back turned to him. "Dont lie, you missed me."

"Yeah, if she was in the mood for a playing guitar hero and watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer reruns."

Johnny stuck his head out from under the sink, there stood next to his little brother was his best friend Bruce. "Bruce, what the hell are you doing here?"

Aaron opened the fridge and pulled out two beers and handed one to Bruce. "Don't act like your not happy to see me." He laughed, taking a sip of his beer. "I was at my Ma's, helping her move a new couch in, I saw your car and thought I'd stop by."

He took another gulp from the can before turning to Alli. "Hey Princess." She threw her head over her shoulder and smiled at him, "Hey Moose." He smiled and extended his hand out to her, plam up. She slapped it, her smile widening.

Bruce liked her, he didn't at first, figuring what could a senior see in a niner. Especially with how different the two of them were, Johnny from the wrong side of the tracks and Alli who had everything going for her. That's how she got her nickname 'Princess', she lived in a wealthy part of town, she got good grades, and she was beautiful.

She was sarcastic and witty, although at the beginning she was winey and insecure. He supposed that was their fault, all of John and his friends, making sure she felt uncomfortable, unwanted. They were just afraid for John, sure he seemed tough but Bruce knew just how unstable his best friend really was. But as time went on, Princess had started opening up, being more herself around them. She even put them in their place a few times and it was delightful to watch.

He watched as her wide eyes turned from him to Aaron, who stood next to him. He was standing with his arms crossed over his shirtless chest, smirking at her. Her smile dropped and was replaced by a mock grimace. "Why is it that your always in less articles of clothing than everyone else?"

"Well, if you like I could make some magic happen and I wouldnt be the only one without a shirt." She scoffed and turned back around in her seat and Jean's cry of "Aaron!", made the boy chuckle.

Bruce looked between Alli and Aaron, the look in Aaron's pale gaze showed lust among other things. The look in Alli's eyes showed a playfulness but a disgust that he could easily read. They were the same age, in the same grade, it would be so much easier for the two of them to go out. But one look between Johnny and Princess and anyone could see that would never happen. He guessed Aaron knew that, and that's why he flirted with Alli so much, just to piss off his brother and because he knew Alli would never pick him.

He wasnt bad looking, Aaron. He was a little shorter than Johnny, a little thicker with more muscle, his blond hair was the same color and curl, but shorter. It reminded him of Heath Ledger in 10 things I hate about you. Not that he watched that movie on his own or anything...Alli had made them watch it one time...yeah. The hue of his eyes were a little bluer than Johnny's and looked a little more like their Mother.

He looked over to where his best friend was on the floor, fixing the sink. His combat boots were old and scuffed, his jeans were baggy with holes in the knees, worn from years of use. They way the two brothers dressed was incredibly different as well. Johnny and him had always been the grungy-rocker types, metal heads with baggy pants and grimy band t-shirts. They always wore the same hats over their long hair, their dirty boots always the same. Aaron on the other hand wore black skinny jeans that rivaled Alli's in tightness, when he was actually wearing a shirt it was a nice button down left open with a band t-shirt underneath and the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. They were just so different, yet so much the same.

He took a gulp of his beer before asking Mrs. D if she needed any help, she declined but thanked him for his offer and to just simply hang out. The three of them walked down to the basement after Jean had dimissed them, Alli putting up a little fight about leaving Jean with all the work. But she just shushed her and sent her along with Aaron and Bruce down stairs.

Johnny stood up from his position on the floor, wiping his hands off on his jeans. "So, whats the verdict?" He looked up to his mothers eyes, "You need a new set of pipes, just like I told you the last time I came to fix it." he began to pick his stuff up from the floor and put it back in his case. "I did what I could, and it should hold until you get a actual plumer in here who knows what hes doing."

Jean walked over to him and stroked his hair lovingly. "But you do know what your doing, so why waste the money when you could simply just fix it for me." She smiled brightly at him.

"Because, I'm not a plumer and I'll probably end up breaking it." She shook her head. "Nonsense. You fixing it is just fine."

He let out a frustrated sigh at his mothers blatant disregard for what he was saying. "Mom, if you don't get new pipes put in soon, then the house is going to flood. And, I cant fix that. So, please, call a freakin' plumer and get them put in."

"Well, alright."

"Good."

She kissed his cheek, hugging him to her closely, she hadn't realized just how much he had grown until that moment. He stood before her, bending slightly, to engulf her fully in his hug. She was reminded of how it looked when he went to give Alli a hug when she wasn't wearing heels, almost comical.

"Oh! I almost forgot." She let go of their embrace and looked up at him. "I know Alliah's birthday is soon, so I wanted to throw her a little party. I'll take off work for the day and we'll have it either here or at your apartment, it doesn't matter."

He looked down at his mother, his eyebrow quirked. "Why?"

She scoffed at him, "Well, I just figured since her parents don't know about you two, it wouldn't be normal between the two of you at her party. And besides, I just want an excuse to make her a cake."

He smiled at her, "Alright, well have it at the apartment, maybe the day or two after her party." Jean clapped her hands together excitedly. "Brilliant. I'll make the food, your in charge of inviting people you know she'll want there. Have you gotten her a present yet?"

He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, I...," Jean glanced at him from over her shoulder. "no."

"_Johnathan_!" He cringed at the use of his full name. "Her birthday is not that far away! Your her boyfriend for god sakes, your suppose to have a present for her before everyone else."

"She's hard to buy for."

Jean looked at him deadpan. That was his excuse? Had she taught him nothing?

"Really, John. I bet Bruce got her a present before you did."

He scowled at her before turning around and walking down the stairs to the basement, where everyone else resided. "I'll get it, stop worrying. Its not like shes _your_ girlfriend."

Jean rolled her pale eyes, her son, was an idiot. She turned around and started to prepare for dinner.

--

"Dude, no more Buffy reruns."

Aaron turned to Johnny appalled. "Say, what now?" Johnny stared his brother down from his position on the couch. "Aaron, its getting old. I can only handle so much 90's lingo and Sarah Michelle Geller."

Aaron scoffed, turning off the TV. "Fine." He walked over to the old stereo and put in a unmarked mixed CD. "This is what I'm talking about." Bruce started to head bang when Redneck by Lamb of God came on and Alli, who was seated between him and Johnny, started to laugh as his hat flew off.

Alli turned her head towards her boyfriend to see his head bobbing slightly and his fingers tapping on the armrest of the couch. Although he seemed to be listening to the music, his eyes were glazed over in thought, staring at something no one else could see. She started to play with his hand that draped over her shoulder, getting his attention. He turned to her, his eyebrows raising in a silent question.

"Are you okay?" He kissed her gently. "Fine, why?"

She smiled up at him, "You just seemed to be far away, I wanted to know what you were thinking about."

"Nothing that you have to be concerned about Backwoods." He smirked down at her. "Why don't you see if you can get your birthday present out of Bruce early."

Her eyes brightend at the thought of birthday presents. She turned to Bruce who was no longer head banging and instead laughing at Aaron's attempt to mosh, with himself.

"Moose..."

"No."

He didn't even turn to look at her when he answered, knowing the pout that was to come. Johnny snickered at the internal struggle Bruce was having with himself as Alli moved closer to him, pleading softly, grabbing his hand and attempting to make eye contact with him.

"Nope. Your not getting it out of me."

"But, please! Please Bruce! It's not like I'm actually going to see you on my birthday, you have to give it to me sometime!"

Johnny struggled with holding in his laughter as Bruce made the big mistake of looking down into her dark eyes. No one would be able to tell her no, he learned that the hard way. He watched as Bruce looked away and cursed as he gave into her. He stood up and she followed him, jumping up to wrap her arms around the much larger boy. He looked to Johnny shaking his head as Johnny laughed and he detached Backwoods from his body.

"Okay...well, I know how you've never been to a real concert before, so were going to take you to one."

She stared at him with wide eyes, her smile growing. "Really?!" Bruce laughed, "Would I lie to you Princess?" He pulled out his wallet from his back pocket and extracted the tickets from it, handing them to Alli.

She was jumping up and down, making strange squeaking noises. "Now, I want you to know that this isn't going to be some pussy concert or anything. John and I are taking you to see one of our favorite bands."

Alli turned to look at Johnny who had a smile on his face, then turned back to Bruce who mimicked the smile. "_Oh my God_!" She launched herself at Bruce once again, squeezing him tight yelling repeatedly "Thank you!". She let go of him and turned to Johnny, who had stood up, and jumped on him, hooking her legs around his slim waist. She gave him a hard kiss on the mouth before jumping down off him and doing her "happy dance", as she liked to call it.

"Hey, why don't I get a thank you kiss?" Bruce said mock appalled. "I'm the one that bought you the tickets."

Alli laughed before leaning up to give Bruce a kiss on the cheek. He nodded, "That's better."

She smiled brightly. "I'm so excited." Johnny smiled down at her. "You should be."

"Although, I hope you know what your saying yes to Backwoods. Cause, this could potentially change your outlook on music forever."

She looked up at him from her thick lashes, a smirk on her plush lips. "Oh, I'm ready."

And that was it.

He was sold.

* * *

Soo, hey there. I need help, I have a band in mind for the concert, but I would much rather see what you all think Johnny and Bruce would take Alli to see. What bands do you think they would be into?


	3. To Mosh, or Not to Mosh

* * *

She held her head in her hand, her long hair falling over the arm that propped her head up. Her other hand tapped the table idly with her pencil and her dark eyes had a glazed over appearance.

"Alli...Alli..." Clare waved a hand in front of her face, watching as the glazed look in her eyes passed and her dark eyes focused. "Earth to Alli, you okay?"

Alli smiled up at her best friend. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking."

Clare rolled her pale eyes, a small smile placed on her thin lips. She knew exactly what Alli was 'just thinking' about, or more along the lines of who. She couldn't really criticize Alli about her unusal love for one Johnny DiMarco or the fact that she had just seen him that morning. She couldn't because she was in the same exact boat as Alli at the moment, her heart had been stolen by K.C. a long time ago, she would be a hypocrite if she did.

"So, are you excited for your birthday?"

Clare watched as Alli's face instantly brightened, her dark eyes shinning brighter. She turned fully in her chair to look at Clare, "Of course I am. But I'm more excited for this weekend, like, you have no idea!" her smile widened as she proceeded to tell her best friend all about the concert she was going to attend with her boyfriend and Bruce.

"Do you even like that kind of music?" Clare's face was doubtful, for she knew just what kind of music Alli was interested in. Alli rolled her eyes, "Well, no, not particularly..."

"Then why are you so excited exactly?"

Alli let out an exasperated sigh. "Because Clare, their taking me to see Latefallen and Lamb of God! They like worship these guys, and the fact that they thought I was old enough to want to go is awesome in itself."

Clare knew the last part all to well, Johnny was constantly looking out for Alli. Ever since they had sex and she regretted it because she was too young, he had made sure she only did things when she was ready. It was a sweet gesture from him, really, but sometimes it went from when she was ready to age appropriate. And he went from boyfriend to father. It annoyed Alli to no end, and because Alli told her everything and was on the receiving end of her rants about Johnny, Clare was annoyed by it as well.

"Well, are you sure your going to be able to handle that kind of concert Al?"

Alli cocked her head to the side in confusion, "What do you mean?"

It wasn't Clare that answered but KC. "You know, music so loud its deafening, where you can literally feel the bass, moshing, drunkin' kids starting fights,..." Alli rolled her eyes and turned around behind them to face KC. "You don't think I can handle it?"

"Well, you are a princess." He watched as Alli scoffed. "Come on Alli, you cry when your shoes get scuffed or your shirt gets a snag."

She could tell by the tone of his voice that he was only joking with her, but she clenched her jaw because she knew it was true. She prided herself on her fashion sense, her immaculate hair and makeup, the fact that she was always clean and smelt nice. So, to be in a packed arena full of sweating boys pushing up against one another and drinking foul smelling beer with the possibility that they might spill it or their sweat on her did not sound appealing at all. But, to see Johnny all sweaty and riled up, singing along with the band, enjoying himself for once, that sounded mighty fine. And that's why she was going, also because that was her birthday present from Moose, and she wanted him to know how much she appreciated the thought.

With a 'Shut up KC' and kick to his shin, she turned around in her chair and attempted to finnish her chemistry work. It was Clare's voice and the fact that, for once, she had no idea how to solve the equation that she stopped and sighed.

"So...do you know what your going to wear?"

Alli smiled and glanced at her best friend, she always knew just what to say to cheer her up. "No, but your going to help me."

--

"Come on Backwoods, were going to be late."

Johnny stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the door frame of the front door. Bruce sat on the couch further in the living room, his feet propped up on the coffee table in the center. He surveyed the apartment out of sheer boredom, living room to the left of him, hallway in front of him, bedroom and bathroom beyond that. The kitchen opened up into the living room and the cycle started over again.

"Jesus Johnny! Hold your freakin' horses."

Her voice came from his room, the door still shut. He let out a sigh of frustration and ran a hand over his already tired eyes. It was eight o'clock and he was already getting tired, how pathetic was that?

"Bhandari! Come on!"

Johnny turned and smirked at Bruce who had a arm slung over his eyes and his mouth hanging open. He could hear Alli's growl of anger towards them at rushing her "precious dress up time". He was just about to crack open a beer when he heard she soft footfalls coming down the hallway. He lifted his eyes from Bruce to her and almost lost his footing. She stopped before him, enough distance away that he could see her outfit clearly.

"Well," she lifted her arms from her sides and twirled once for him. "what do you think?"

He let his pale eyes travel the length of her, from her long dark hair up in a high ponytail, to her boot covered feet. Her usual soft, subtle, makeup was gone and replaced with dark kohl colored eyeliner and charcoal colored shadow. Her eyes were smoky, sexy, her lips here stained a dark red instead of their glossy tinge. His eyes went lower and noticed her choice of apparel, that was what shocked him the most.

In place of her keen fashion sense and immacualte clothing of bright colors, she was wearing a grungy black t-shirt. It wasn't as tight as she usually wore them, but it fit her just as it should. Her long legs were covered in tight black skinny jeans that hung low on her hips and black biker boots that stopped at her knees.

He was honestly speechless.

It seemed that she could pull off just about anything. Yet, as much as his mind was fully consumed on her, he couldn't stop the thought of how much she resembled Vee at the moment. He shook his head, where had that come from? He hadn't thought about Vee in years, but to see Alli dressed up like some grunge-Muslim barbie brought back some memories of the only other girl -

"Hello...Earth to Johnny." She waved her hand infront of his eyes.

He shook his head and checked her out once again before a smirk presented itself on her lips. He looked into her eyes and saw the need for his approval, it was mixed emotions in her dark eyes. She was confidant but she was also worried about her strange appearance, and that's one of the things he loved about her. Its how he knew she wasn't like the other girls, she could be confidant without being arrogant.

"Can't you tell, you've made him more speechless than he usually is."

He turned and gave Bruce the middle finger before looking back down in to Alli's eyes. "You look beautiful." She smiled wide and kissed him quickly before grabbing her purse and walking out the door.

"Aren't you guys coming? We do have a show to get to."

"Ohhh, she's such a funny girl." Bruce clapped a hand on Johnny's shoulder, following her out.

Johnny rolled his eyes and locked the door behind them. He walked down the hallway and down the stairs to the main door only to find a freshly twenty year old boy, three times the size of a almost seventeen year old girl, fighting over the front seat of his car.

"Alli, just sit in the back."

He watched as she detangled herself from Bruce and pouted in his direction. Her arms crossed over her chest and her hip jutted out. "Why do I always have to sit in the back?"

"Why do you always have to act like your still a niner?"

She turned and slapped Bruce on the arm and turned back to Johnny, the anger officially reaching her eyes. She wasn't actually mad at the fact that she had to sit in the back, she was more pissed about what Bruce had said. She knew she didn't act like she was still fourteen, but hearing it come out of his mouth just made her fears grow.

Johnny stared at the look in her eyes, he knew she wasn't just angry, he knew she was upset about what Bruce said. It was particaly true, she did sometimes act like she was still young, but that's because she was. She was young. And Bruce didn't seem to grasp that fact. She was his girlfriend, she had the right to pout at him whenever she felt like it.

"Bruce, shut the fuck up. Alli, get in the car."

Bruce held up his hands and got in the car, while Alli stood her ground and kept her eyes locked on him. He motioned for her to come to him and she wouldn't at first. "Alli, come here." She didn't budge. "Please."

She sighed and rolled her eyes as she walked over to him, her arms were still crossed over her chest and her jaw was still clenched. Johnny wrapped his arms around her and kissed her lightly on the lips, "Alli, you don't act like a niner. Don't listen to Bruce, you know he's a dick. This is your birthday present and I don't want you to be upset for it."

The scowl on her face had faded and was replaced by a contemplating look. "Alright. I'm sorry for being stupid."

Johnny shook his head. "Your not being stupid. Come on, we do have a concert to get to you know." His voice was teasing, using her words against her. A smile broke out upon her face and Johnny took her hand in his and walked to the car. "Bruce, get in the back, Alli's gotta finish her makeup."

Johnny winked at her and she smiled as Bruce groaned and got in the back.

--

She looked around her, leaning against the car. It was dark out, slightly chilly, and hordes of drunk people meandering around. Johnny stood next to her, his arm slung around her shoulders and a beer in his other hand. Bruce stood talking to some other kids in front of the trunk, which was popped open. Some opener band who, she supposed no one cared for, was playing in the arena and it could be heard perfectly even from where she stood outside.

"Are you having fun?"

She looked up at him and smiled, "Of course I am." she took the beer from his hand and sipped from it before handing it back. "I'm just more excited for the show."

He let a smile slip onto his face and brought her closer to him. "I'm gonna warn you, it can get a little scary in there." She made a face and turned to face him. "And you don't think I'll be able to handle it?"

"Not for your first time Princess."

"Shut up Moose!"

Bruce placed a hand over his heart in mock hurt as everyone around them started to laugh. Johnny looked down at her, snuggled up against him, her arms crossed over her chest from the cold. He pulled off his jacket and placed it on her shoulders, they wouldn't need it when they got inside, so he gave it to her for now. He heard a chorus of 'awww's and he rolled his eyes at them. Alli fake laughed and flipped them off, which just seemed to provoke them more.

Johnny looked down at his cell phone before he announced that it was time to go in. Alli slipped his jacket off and put it in the backseat of his car, Bruce and the others finnished their beers and slammed the trunk. Alli slipped her hand into Johnny's as they walked into the arena, for once Johnny was glad for it. As they walked all he saw was people, mostly of the male gender, openly staring at his Alli. People usually stared at them anyway, they knew they were an odd match, but this was different and he knew it. He knew it because he looked at Alli the same way as well, it was a mixture of lust, hunger, need. He didn't like it one bit.

She looked up at him. "What?" He shook his head. "What is it Johnny?"

He sighed. "I knew I shouldn't have let you out of the house like that."

She rolled her eyes, a smile forming on her lips. "Shut up." She pulled him along faster as they approched the ticket booth. Bruce handed the burly man the tickets and he stamped their hands. When he got to Alli, Johnny noted how he looked her up and down, smirking, then stamping her hand.

"There you go sweetheart, have fun in there."

She smiled and said her thanks, keeping eye contact with her wide eyes. Didn't she know what those eyes did to people? He shook his head as he put out his hand for the giant man to stamp.

"She your girl?"

Johnny looked up at the guy. "Uh, yeah." The man nodded his head, a smirk on his lips. "Good job."

With raised eyebrows Johnny caught up with Alli and Bruce, they walked more into the arena and saw the mosh pit already going strong as the band set up. They stood on the outskirts of the mosh pit, watching, Bruce had gone off with a couple of the other kids and joined it. Latefallen had finished setting up and jumped right into their first song, Johnny watched as Alli's eyes grew wide at the intense sound. It had shocked her at first, how loud it was, she had never been to a concert before. She watched with curiosity as the kids went crazy and jumped up and down, hitting each other, swinging their arms in circles and all around. It fascinating. She watched as the lead singer sang to the crowd and ran around the stage. The guitarists were moving their fingers so fast and the drummer was hitting the drums so hard.

Johnny let a smile fall on his face at the sigh of hers, it was priceless. This was such a good idea, he wasn't sure why he didn't think of it first. He watched as she started to bob her head to the music, subconsciously he was sure, then it was her leg, then her hips, until she was fully moving with the beat of the song. She danced to a few more songs, him of course, standing with his arms crossed, bobbing his head with the sound.

They were going into their last song, 'Bloody Kiss'. The opening riff sounded and the lyrics started, Alli whipped her head around to look at him with a smile on her face, she knew exactly what this song was. It was an old song of theirs and she wondered why they were closing with it, but she loved it nevertheless. Johnny knew she had figured out the meaning behind the song, it was on of "their songs" as Alli had dubbed it. He smiled and playfully rolled his eyes as Alli started jumping up and down in front of him singing the words. She pulled on the front of his opened button up, dragging his closer to her as she sang. She playfully wiggled her hips seductively against his and laughed, enjoying herself. She jumped up on him, wrapping her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck, laughing as he started spinning her around.

He set her down as the song ended and they dropped the stage lights for breakdown. She turned to him, her mouth open in shock. "Can you totally believe that they played that song?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I asked them to play it for your birthday."

She looked at him with shock and a smile on her face, speechless for a moment before she slapped him on the arm. "You are such a big liar."

He let out a laugh, "Yeah, I am." He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, bringing her face against his chest and she wrapped her arms around his waist. "It was just a seriously awesome coincidence Backwoods."

She looked up at him from her place on his chest. "Yeah I know, but it was still pretty cool."

They saw a flash from the corner of their eyes and turned to see Bruce standing behind a smiling girl with a camera. Alli remembered her from earlier, when they were tailgating in the parking lot.

"Aww, Eloise, look how cute they look."

Alli rolled her eyes at Bruce's 'pretend caring' voice. Alli ignored them and returned to her conversation with Johnny. He looked down at her, "You hungry or anything Backwoods?" she shook her head. "You sure?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, Johnny."

"Alright, but don't bug me later when you die from being too skinny."

"There is a name for that, its called anorexia, which I don't have. And if anyone is going to die from being too skinny it happens to be you mister." To prove her point she poked him in his stomach, hitting the slight muscle that lie there.

The lights had dimmed in the crowd once again, the crowd cheering before the the stage lights had even risen. Bruce and the girl with the camera, Alli had come to know as Eloise, had come over to stand by them. She watched as Johnny and Bruce both started getting heavily excited and she had to contain her giggles seeing them like that. They were standing next to each other, pushing shoulders, and jumping as the first guitar sounded. Then the stage lights went up and Lamb of God broke out into their first song, the crowd officially going insane. Johnny and Bruce started to mosh with each other and a couple of the kids in front of them, making a circle which in turn kept getting bigger. She watched as Eloise was singing along to the song, and going between taking pictures of the band and of the boys throwing elbows in front of her.

She was a pretty girl, with dark blond hair, streaked with red and blue, and small blue eyes. She was a small girl, peite was the right word, and she reminded Alli of a cross between Jenna and Scarlet Johanssen, but without the big boobs. She had found her way over to Alli and smiled at her.

"I'm Eloise, I know we haven't really met." She yelled over the music and extended her hand to Alli, who smiled and shook her hand. "I'm Alli."

"I already know who you are. You and Johnny are really sweet together."

She smiled at Alli before turning and taking more pictures of what was going on around her. Alli let out a shriek when out of know where Bruce picked her up and started spinning her around. He laughed, putting her back down and posed next to her so Eloise could take a picture. Johnny had joined them and she took another picture with all of them in it, she laughed at the funny faces they made. She looked through the pictures she had taken, Alli was undeniably a stunning girl, she'd have to ask her if she would model for her sometime.

Alli nudged Johnny and he dropped his ear down to her face so he could hear her over the music. "Is she a photographer?" Johnny nodded his head and brought his mouth to her ear. "She goes to college for photography, yeah. She's using some of these pictures for her project I think."

Alli nodded her head and became excited when she realized the riff from the guitar onstage. She actually knew this song, and remembered the words! It was 'Redneck', Bruce's favorite song. She watched as he handed her his hat and started headbanging along, Johnny joined in soon after. Bruce stood up and she gave him back his hat, Johnny too. She started jumping, not because of the music, but because this time she couldn't see the stage. Some big guys had decided to take residence right in front of her. She pouted for a moment before turning to Bruce.

"Bruce..."

"No."

"Come on Bruce!"

"I said no!"

"Come on!"

"..."

"Please?"

He looked down into her eyes, kicking himself for doing so. He sighed, "Ugh, fine. Get up here."

She smiled wide as Bruce kneeled down and Alli got onto his shoulders. He held her legs as he stood up and she saw over everyone. She sang along to the song, both her arms raised, doing the 'rock on' sign with her fingers. Alli could see the flashes of Eloise's camera but she didn't really register it, all she could think of was the beat of her heart and how it was going along with the bass of the song. The way it was so loud and distracting but so alluring all at once, the adrenaline that somehow wound its way into her system. The dozens of people in front of her, feeling the same thing, probably even more intensified. The song came to an end and her ears were filled with the roar of the crowd, it was so loud she almost couldn't hear anything at all.

She didn't even realize the loud noise that came out of her until she felt Bruce's shoulders shake in laughter, and the bellow of a 'woo' that followed hers. She watched as the lead singer asked if they were all having a good time, smiling as everyone cheered in his response.

He let out a laugh, "Looks like it, especailly that girl back there." he pointed to Alli, who didn't realize it. "Whats your name sweetheart?"

Bruce wiggled his shoulders and she came to her senses. "Alli." She screamed, and even though it was quiet, her voice still didn't seem loud enough.

"Hear that boys, her name is Alli and she will, Break You."

The crowd roared as they jumped into their next song, 'Break You', well, Alli thought it was a good transition. She looked down at Johnny with a smile on her face so wide he thought her cheeks might split. He smiled back at her, because it had honestly been one of the coolest things he'd experienced in a long time. His favorite band acknowledging his girlfriends existence and using her as a segway into their next song equalled awesome.

Alli jumped down from Bruce's shoulders and jumped on Johnny. "How stellar was that?!" He smiled wide, nodding with her. "That it was."

She didn't really know what was happening until it was too late. She had turned from Johnny, walking more into the mosh pit, attempting to get around the dudes that stood in front of her. In that process she had wound up being thrust in to a moshing circle, she fell onto to the ground, her butt breaking her fall. The boys in the circle paid her not notice and kept ramming into one another, swing their arms. One boy even tripped over her and fell as well. It was her yell of pain that made them stop, the boy who had tripped over her successfully hit her in the face.

He stood up and held an arm out for her. "You okay? I didn't get you too bad did I?" She grabbed his arm and he hauled her up to her feet.

The other boys came around them too, shoving into him for hitting a girl, by accident or not. "Good job Bobbie." One of them said. "I'm alright, really, I'm fine." She touched her cheekbone. "You just nicked my face is all."

He looked at her cheekbone, which had already begun to turn red. "Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't see you on the ground. You might want to get that check out tomorrow."

Some of the other boys agreed and she made sure to tell them she was fine before pushing past people to find Johnny and Bruce. Johnny saw her pushing through the crowd over to him and rushed over to her. Her cheekbone held a bruise, an angry red one.

"What happened?"

"I got pushed into the mosh pit and some kid tripped over me and hit me, by accident, in the face." She watched Johnny's face contort into anger, his fists clenched. "Johnny its fine really, it was an accident. It doesn't even hurt."

He snorted. "Yeah, okay, liar."

Alli was forced to stay on Bruce's shoulders to watched the rest of the show, not that she minded really, it was just the fact that she was forced to that bothered her. There was a massive mosh pit that ended with two kids sporting broken noses, a girl with a broke arm, and a boy with a black eye. Then a kid managed to get on stage and dive into the crowd, which moved out of the way, letting him break into the floor. The paramedics came in from the side of the stage, assessing his body before putting him on a stretcher and getting him out of there. Lamb of God had done a few more songs then came back out to do an encore. Once the stage lights dimmed and the arena lights went up everyone started filing out the doors. Some people high fived her as they passed, yelling out her name, telling her how cool that was.

They walked out, her still on Bruce's shoulders, and over to Johnny's car. Bruce placed her down once they got there and she cuddled right up to Johnny. "So, how was your first concert Backwoods?"

She kissed him soundly on the mouth, letting her lips part over his and wrapping her arms around his neck. They parted after a few minutes, Alli's arms still around his neck. "It was the best birthday present I've ever gotten." He ran his thumb over her cheekbone lightly, she winced and he removed it. "Even the bruised cheekbone. It just makes everything more real, and I totally seem more badass."

He placed his hands under her shirt, traveling up her back, letting out a laugh at her statment. "Yes, because broken bones turn me on so much." She rolled her eyes at him. "Your birthday hasn't even started yet, how do you know this was your favorite present? I mean you never know what you might recieve."

"Now what are you trying to tell me Mr. DiMarco?"

He shrugged his shoulders, placing small kisses on her mouth. "Who knows." He saw the goosebumps on her arms and placed on last kiss on her mouth before letting go. "Come on, it cold out here."

They said goodbye to Eloise, who promised to stay in touch, and they got in Johnny's car, Alli in the front seat once again. She was out before they even hit the highway, with Johnny's jacket covering her and her feet up against the dashboard. He could hear Bruce's snores after a while, so he turned the music on softly to keep him awake and thought about the night.

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So, I know those two bands would like, never do a show together. But come on people, this is fanfiction, so who cares.

Thank you all so much for the reviews and the suggestions, they really helped me. So, please keep continue to do so. I loveee input from people, because lets be honest, without you guys there would be no story. Anyway, last weeks episode, was for real! Jalli lovers, you feel me. But don't worry, regardless of what happens to Alli and Johnny on Degrassi I will still continue this story. I'll probably find a way to add what happens to them into this story...maybe.

Ohh and this mysterious Vee girl, haha you'll find out about her in the next chapter or two. But see, here's the funny thing, I totally had the part about Johnny thinking about Alli looking like Vee the only other girl he ever - [cliffhanger] before the "You be Illin'" episode aired, but it totally works out in my favor now haha

Soo do we like Eloise? Do we want more of her, and more of her and Alli being friends? Do we want more Clare and KC? What do we want more of, because obviously I'm here to serve you. =]

Tell me what you think, want, liked, didn't like. Suggestions, ideas, comments. I adore you guys.


	4. Seventeen Candles, Part One

Jeez Louise guys, I'm soo sorry that this took forever to get up! I hope you like this chapter nevertheless, oh, and next chapter [which I am working on now, I promise!] will contain the thing you've all been yearning for. hint, hint. So, don't give up on me yet! I hope all of you reading this story will continue to do so. Oh, and I need a little help. What would be the perfect gift for Johnny to give Alli? Think on it, lovee you all. Ideas, comments, thoughts are all appreciated.

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She tugged the brush through her hair, she wasn't sure why she wanted it to be so shiny. Well, she knew, she just didn't want to admit it. Today was her seventeenth birthday party, today her parents would meet Johnny for the first time, not as her boyfriend of two years of course, yet it was still nerve wracking all the same. Her parents would judge him, dissect him. She wasn't worried about him cracking under the pressure, he was strong, but she was sure as hell worried she would.

Everyone knew that the Bhandari children were to marry someone of their own, this didn't stop them from pursuing love though. She worried her bottom lip through her teeth as she started getting dressed, thinking about Johnny. She loved him, that much was sure, and if given the chance she knew her famiy would love him too, everyone would. That was the problem with Johnny, he had this other side to him, one that he kept strictly for her. And as much as she loved his bad boy, 'I don't give a shit' attitude, she loved his soft, smiling side more.

Her party was going to be relatively small, not at all like her sweet sixteen were her family came over from India. No, just Clare, KC, Connor, Jenna, Sav, Anya, some other kids from school, Aunts and Uncles that live near by, and of course Johnny. Her Mother decorated the house with brightly colored streamers and silk rugs that came from Persia where some of her Mother's family resided. She wasn't allowed to wear her 'school clothes', but she was so not wearing the long skirts and ugly sweaters that she was forced to wear around the house. So, her Mother compromised, letting her wear a dress. It was nothing fancy, it didn't have patterns or an awesome design. It was teal in color, simple with thick straps and a modest neckline, flaring out into pleats from the waist-line and came a little above the knee. If she wore golden slippers with it instead of heels, her father would deem it acceptable.

She pulled her long hair up into a high ponytail, dangling gold earrings hung from her ears, a beloved gift from Sav. She stripped down and put on her dress, turning her back to where Clare sat on her bed reading a magazine. "Can you zip me up?"

She paused for a moment, letting the question ring in her ears. How many times a day did she ask Johnny that same exact question? Turning and watching in the mirror as he stalked quietly over to her, the only sound escaping him a sigh and a roll of his pale eyes. Watching as he gently moved her silken hair over one shoulder, slowly dragging the zipper up her back, pausing once it was done to let his hands slide down her hips.

She jumped back into reality when she felt Clare's cold hands fumble with the zipper, "I don't know why you're so jumpy." Clare glanced at her through the full length mirror.

"Well you would be too if your parents were meeting your boyfriend."

"They have met KC and they adore him even though he'd had his fair share of faults." Clare's tone was condescending and full of double meanings making Jenna roll her eyes from her place at Alli's vanity. "You know what she means Clare, and it's different cause her parents don't even know she's been dating Johnny."

Jenna's smile comforted her for some reason, she supposed it was because Jenna reminded her of Eloise. And although she didn't know the blond all that well, she missed her, there was just something oddly comforting about her that Alli liked very much. She had wanted to invite Eloise, she had wanted to invite Bruce, but she knew this wasn't the time or place for those friends, even though it irked her so.

They made their way downstairs, her Mother in the kitchen with the Aunts and older female cousins, her Father in the dinning room, sipping brandy and talking politics with the Uncles and male cousins, little ones ran around while KC and Connor stood by the table of snacks in the living room and she could hear music playing in the back round. She knew not everyone was there yet, but she couldn't help but wish they were so she could sneak off, unnoticed and call Johnny. She hoped he wouldn't arrive after everyone, making some grand entrance and causing her parents suspicions to grow.

"Happy Birthday Alli! You look pretty." She turned to see the smiling face of Connor and she couldn't help but smile back. "Thanks Connor."

She turned to face KC, who stood next to Connor with his arms around Clare, "Yeah, Alli, you really do."

She knew that tone of his voice, the unwavering connection and directness of his eyes. They had been there before, once, a strange time in their relationship and his relationship with Clare. She didn't like it, the way he looked at her when he thought she wasn't paying attention, the smiles he reserved for her, the over friendly nature of him. He was one of her best friends, he was kind, caring, sweet, protective...she was just afraid his priorities weren't exactly in the right place.

They had kissed, once when they were fourteen, then again sometime last year. It had been an accident, a drunken mistake on her part, but she wasn't so sure he thought it was. He had always had something for her, although he loved Clare completely, there was just always something about Alli that he couldn't ignore. Thats what brought them to where they were now, this strange closeness and friendship with a sprinkle of awkward love. He would never leave Clare again and he knew for a fact that she was so involved with Johnny it made him cringe.

"The boy is right Backwoods, you do look good."

Alli whipped around to find Johnny leaning against the doorway to the living room, a smirk on his face, his arms crossed over his chest. KC glared his way, not missing the way he called him 'boy'. Alli smiled bright and ran over to where he was, stopping short from jumping into his arms and kissing him. She looked up into his eyes and sighed, he nodded understanding. She took his hand and brought him over to the group, watching as more people came through the door and into the living room.

"Blondie, dork, boy, Clare." He nodded his head at them, Jenna smiling wide and saying hi back, Connor and KC glaring, and Clare just stared before giving him a tight-lipped smile. Sometimes it irked her how the majority of her friend didn't like her boyfriend, sometimes she couldn't care less about what they thought. This was not one of those times.

"Wow, you're here early. Usually I wouldn't see you until ten minutes after the event started."

He smirked, chuckling slightly at her true remark. "Very true Backwoods, very true."

She glanced over his attire, realizing for the first time that he wasn't wearing his standard ripped jeans and band t-shirt, instead he wore black dress pants and a red button up. Of course the button up was unbuttoned, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a black undershirt could be seen beneath it. He actually looked, decent. She couldn't help the smile at his clothing, knowing it was actually Aaron's. She looked up into his eyes and could see him shaking his head.

"Shut up. I don't wanna hear it."

Her laughing only caused him to pout angrily and roll his eyes even more, he knew it was all in good nature, but her constant giggles at his attire were giving him a headache. It didn't help that her little friends were glaring at him, her family was in the next room ready to meet him, and he was exceedingly uncomfortable in his younger brother's clothes. Blondie seemed to be the only one genuinely pleased to see him, she had always been nice to him, even when him and Alli were in a fight, she always came to give him advice on how to fix it. Clare was Alli's best friend, he knew that and even though he didn't like it there wasn't really anything he could do about it. She had never seemed to like him, ever, she was bossy and demanding and scoffed at him all the time. She didn't like him and he certainly didn't like her; or her boy wonder. He couldn't stand KC, or boy as he preferred to call him, either. The boy irked him greatly, the way he clenched his jaw towards him, they way his gaze held Alli's figure for too long, they way he pretended to be _oh_ so good...

"Alliah, some of your friends just came in - Oh, hello, I'm Mr. Bhandari, Alliah's father."

Clare nudged KC and slowly walked away with Jenna and Connor, letting Alli introduce Johnny to her father. He watched as Alli fidgeted nervously, he could hear the slightly labored breathing, the nervous habit of twisting her hands through her hands.

"Daddy, this is - "

"John DiMarco sir." He shook Mr. Bhandari's hand firmly, a small smile on his face. He had worked for years to keep up the cool facade that he had perfected, yet he felt as though it all might crumble down as he looked into the eyes of Alli's overbearing father.

"You, ah, seem a bit old to be in Alliah's class."

"I'm not in school with her." He could see her fathers defenses go up, almost threaten by the fact that he was older. "Well then, how do you know her?"

He heard Alli's sharp intake of breath, he was sure no one else did, it really wasn't that loud, he was just trained to her movements and actions, he knew her. He put on a charming smile and let out a little chuckle.

"Well Mr. Bhandari, I graduated from Degrassi three years ago, so I did go to school with Alli. But, my younger brother Aaron is in her grade, they have some classes together and she invited both of us. My brother was planning coming but he has strep throat and I told him I'd still come and bring Alli her gift."

Alli stared up a him in awe, she never knew he could be that charming and convincing. She quickly snapped her mouth shut and smiled when her father looked over to her as a confirmation that Johnny's story was correct. She watched as her father slouched sightly, finding nothing inappropriate going on and deeming the answer acceptable. He nodded to Johnny, placing a hand behind his back and started to lead him into the dinning room where the rest of the 'men' resided.

"Come John, lets leave Alliah to her other friends while we get aquiented."

Alli thought she was going to have a heart attack right then. What was wrong with her father, did he not just find his answers acceptable? Why was he trying to kill his only daughter before she even experienced life? She watched her father pull Johnny away, standing motionless until she felt Jenna collide with her shoulder, knocking her out of her state.

"Oh, my God. Jenna, I think I'm dying." She started breathing deeper, leaning her weight on the blond, fanning herself lightly. "Is he trying to kill me?"

"What happened?"

"He took Johnny away to talk...oh my God, he's going to find out, he going to know!"

"Alli! Shh,"

Jenna pulled her out of the living room and up the stairs into the abandoned upstairs hallway. "Breathe, its fine. There just talking, your father didn't seem angry when he pulled him away." She rubbed Alli's shoulder soothingly, sure Clare would've told Alli that she was over reacting and to suck it up, but Jenna just let Alli have her panic attack. "I'm sure he just wants to ask Johnny about college or where he works, you never know."

"Or he could be informing him about the trip to Persia I have to make to pick out a "suitable husband"."

"What?" Jenna pulled back and pried Alli's hands from her face, "What are you talking about?

Alli sighed, "I'm Indian Jenna, we do still have customs in our religion that says we have to marry someone of our own. Not anytime soon, they're not that archaic. But, some of my Mothers family still lives in Persia and they haven't had a good wedding between our family in years, I guess I'm just the lucky girl for the job."

Her voice was low, tired sounding. It wasn't full of disdain or anger like she expected from someone as passionate as Alli, she sounded defeated.

"I try not to think about it, but its just becoming so hard to live in this fantasy world with Johnny when I know were never going to end up together."

"But you already have." Alli raised a confused eyebrow at Jenna, "You already live with him, shop for him, cook and clean for him. You already love him completely. The only thing your not doing is having kids and wearing a ring on your left hand."

Alli bit at her bottom lip, her eyes staring intently at the carpet but they were unfocused, off somewhere else. Everything that Jenna said was true, she had just never thought about it like that. She was, in an essence, Johnny's wife and he was hers, always. She had come to that conclusion a while ago, even though she was young and she knew they wouldn't get married, he would be the only one to know her completely, to have her heart forever. She honestly loved him with everything she had, which was such strange emotions for a freshly seventeen year old, but she couldn't analyze it.

"Come on, lets go and enjoy your party. You have all tomorrow to brood about this."

The smile on Jenna's face was wide and genuine, her voice light and playful, attempting to drag Alli out of her stupor. She took Alli's hand and pulled her down the stairs and back into the living room where most of her guest had already arrived.

She mingled and danced, ate chips and drank soda from a plastic cup, but nothing seemed to distract her for long. She wondered if he could feel her gaze on his back, if he could he wasn't letting on.

--

"John, these are my cousins and these two are my brothers and I'm sure you know my oldest Sav." Johnny put on his best pleasing smile and shook hands with the men in Alli's family, when it came to Sav he looked into his eyes and shook his hand slowly. "That I do."

"So, John, you said you graduated from Degrassi three years ago, are you at University?"

Johnny accepted the drink handed to him by a Bhandari cousin, "No sir I'm not, I'm actually working at an auto body shop and assisting mechanic classes at Degrassi. I considered going to a University, but my Mother lives alone with my brother so I decided to stay close and help them out. Family is very important to me."

He could tell that he was making quite an impression on Alli's father, he at first seemed put off when Johnny said that University was thrown out the window but when family importance was mentioned he instantly brightened back up, as did the rest of the Bhandari men.

"But, I do happen to be rather good at English, so I decided to start taking night classes at the local college last year. I'm not sure what I'm going for as an end result, but I thought that it might be good to have some classes under my belt."

"Smart boy, some of Alliah's friends could learn from you. Hard working and family orientated."

"Thank you Mr. Bhandari, that means alot. So, what do you do for a living?"

Johnny knew he was being a major kiss ass, he was even disgusted with himself at how polite and pleasant he was acting, but he knew that he had to make a good impression on Mr. Bhandari for when the time came that they told him the truth. In all honesty he had never cared what other people thought of him, he never thought he'd be the kind of boyfriend who cared what her parents thought of him, he never thought he'd be with a girl who required the parents liking him part. Alli changed him in more ways than one and though it made him cringe to think it, he knew he would never feel about someone the way he felt about Alli.

He listened to what Alli's father was speaking about, laughed at the appropriate times, nodded his head, gave his opinion, but the couldn't help but sneak peaks over at the living room. Alli was dancing with Jenna, Anya, and some other girl in her class, she looked like she was having fun, a smile on her face, but her eyes looked distracted. He looked over to her friends scattered around the room, Connor was by the snack table with the Boy, Clare was sitting on the arm of the couch texting. She looked up and caught his eye, he nodded his head toward her but he didn't expect her to do anything back. She didn't like him, she never had. She wanted Alli to be happy and wanted the best for her, apparently she didn't think he was the best. But she surprised him by giving him a small smile back, before turning back to the Boy, who had brought her a drink.

"Oh, John, this is my wife Calista. Calista this is John DiMarco."

Johnny shook hands with Alli's mother and smiled, she accepted it and was much warmer than he thought she would be. She was a very pretty woman, he wondered how Mr. Bhandari had got a catch like her.

"Its nice to meet you Mrs. Bhandari."

"Such good manners," She smiled at him. "come, dinner's ready. You are staying for dinner and cake, are you not?"

"Of course I will."

He watched as they all started gathering around the dinning room table, the women bringing out dishes and plates full of steaming food. He caught Alli's eye and smirked, she bit her lip at him in return. He turned to Mr. Bhandari, "May I use your bathroom before I sit?"

"Of course, here I'll have Alliah show you where it is."

He called Alli over and he couldn't have been more shocked and pleased that his prayers were being answered. Alli came bounding over and smiled politely and ushered him up the stairs. He followed her up and as soon as he reached the landing she pushed him back into the wall and kissed him as hard as she could. He wrapped his arms around her waist, one hand coming up to her jaw, slowing his mouth and making the kiss softer, more intense. She bit at his lip, slowly kissing and languidly moving her tongue with his.

They broke apart and Alli looked up at him smiling, "I've been wanting to do that since you walked in."

"I don't think your father would've appreciated that."

"No, he wouldn't."

Alli jumped apart from Johnny at the sound of Sav's voice, he was standing with is arms over his chest, his back to the stairs. Anya stood behind him, tugging on his arm slightly, an apologetic look in her eyes. He saw Alli growl at her brother, mimicking his pose, narrowing her eyes.

"What are you doing up here Sav."

"I came to get you, Mom wanted to know what color icing you wanted on your cake, and here I find you making out with Father's new favorite person. Wouldn't he like to know whats really going on."

"Sav - "

Anya was cut off by Alli, "And tell him what exactly. That I was kissing a boy."

"That you've bee secretly dating a boy for three years, and yeah, that you were kissing a boy."

Alli stared him down, their eyes narrowed and connected. "Do it then."

"Alli..." He looked over at Anya, who was looking at Alli with sympathy and surprise. "What Anya, hes had three years to out me and he hasn't done it yet, so why now?"

Sav took a step forward and leaned his head down a little to be eye level with her. "Because Johnny's little charade can only last for so long, he'll mess it up sometime, he won't be able to keep it up forever. Friends with his brother?" He let out a laugh. "Yeah, right. You can't stand Aaron, no one can."

"Are you jealous Sav?"

He backed up and looked at her appalled. He expected Sav to blow up that moment by the way he was looking at Alli, but he didn't he turned around and walked down the stairs away from them. Anya looked perplexed, she wasn't sure exactly what to do or say so she slowly made her way down after Sav.

Alli turned to Johnny and gave him an awkward smile, he smiled back at her, taking her hand in his and kissing her cheek gently. They walked down the stairs and back into the dinning room where everyone was starting to sit and making plates of food. Alli went to sit in between Jenna and Clare and Johnny sat across from her on an angle, between two of her cousins. They caught each others eyes a few times throughout dinner, everyone was talking loudly and laughing so no one seemed to notice. Sav was brooding next to Anya who was whispering to him, a disappointed look on her face.

The food was delicious, he found that it was some of the best food he'd ever eaten. There was just so much of it on the table, he wasn't sure what to try and how much to grab. Calista's food was to die for, how Alli and Sav weren't obese was far from him. Not too long after most of the food had been consumed, Calista brought out the cake, three layers with white and turquoise frosting. She set it down in front of Alli, whose face was the epitome of happiness, and locked eyes with him as she blew out the candles.

He could only imagine what she had wished for, he'd make sure to get it out of her later. After the cake was cut, which was also ridiculously delicious, presents were to be handed out. Everyone jumped up to grab their presents off the circular table in the living room and handed them to Alli excitedly when she sat down on the couch. She had gotten clothes, money, and trinkets from her family and school friends, a book she had really wanted from Clare, a board game from Connor, a gift certificate from the Boy, a necklace and matching earrings from Jenna, and finally from "him and Aaron", stuff for her camera. It was a bullshit gift, coming from him anyway, but appropriate for the image they were trying to uphold. In real life, for her party tomorrow, he had gotten her something better, much better.

She thanked everyone for her gifts, ate more cake, danced with her friends, and laughed loud until it reached ten and people started filing out. He gave a goodbye to Calista, promising to come by for dinner sometime, and shook hands with Mr. Bhandari. He caught Alli's eye and winked at her, before turning and walking over to his car, where he would sit until she came out.

Alli greeted her guests at the door, thanking all of them for coming and making her party grand. She helped her parents clean up a bit, brought her gifts up to her room and changed into normal wear, Jenna accompanying her. She had convinced her parents to let her spend the night at Jenna's, claiming she wanted to complete her party with a sleepover at her best friends house. Of course her parents bought it, how naive they were.

She changed quickly, grabbing the pre-packed bag of clothes, she bounded down the stairs with Jenna, hugging her parents goodbye, and avoiding a look from Sav.

"Well, that went alot smoother than I thought." Alli turned to see Jenna smiling at her, jingling her car keys in hand. "Now remember, have fun, be safe, be naughty, and if I call, you better answer."

Alli hugged the blond girl close, thanking her for everything. Jenna turned to her car and hopped in, honking the horn at Alli. She walked over to the black car parked not too far from where she stood. Opening the door and sliding in, she smiled. Johnny turned to her, a soft smile on his lips.

"Did you have a Happy Birthday?" She smirked, leaning over and kissing him softly. "Its not over yet."


	5. Seventeen Candles, Part Two

I am so sorry my reviewers and fellow Johnny/Alli lovers for the long wait! I know, with the lack of Jalli in the recent Degrassi episodes, we need as much lovin' as we can get. And we get it in this chapter! So a long one for ya, and I promise it won't take nearly as long to update next time. Tell me what you think, what you want to see and all that good stuff!

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The drive to his apartment was not one in silence, for Alli could never be silent for more than a few moments at a time, but it was definitely one filled with a quiet tension. It wasn't a bad tension, like after a heated argument, not a sleepy tension from working too hard or staying up to late. No, this was a different kind of tension, one he identified with, one he knew quite well, it was sexual tension.

He had yet to give Alli her real present, the bogus camera stuff he had gotten her was just for the 'Aaron's older brother' role he had to play tonight. He couldn't wait to give her, her real gift though, he was nervous but excited, and hoped to God she liked it. He would give it to her tomorrow at her other birthday party, the one with his family and their friends, he couldn't wait to see the look on her face, and his Mother's for that matter.

They pulled up in front of his apartment building and he parked in his usual spot, he looked over to her and saw she was smiling that lovely smile, the one she only reserved for him. He felt the need to return the favor and gave her a smile back, the smiles that he only gave her, genuine ones. She leaned over in her seat and kissed him softly, her smile curving into the kiss.

"I'm really happy Johnny, thank you."

He shrugged his shoulders non-chalantly, "For what Backwoods?" he already knew for what, but he asked her anyway, wanting to hear it.

"For placating my Father today, I know that took alot for you to actually be a decent human being."

He saw the smirk in her eyes and the playful tone of her voice, "Oh, ha ha. Your just lucky I could keep my image up, the Boy wasn't making it particularly easy."

She let out a laugh and nodded, "Neither was my brother," she blushed. "I can't believe he caught us kissing like that."

Johnny brought his hand up to stoke her face, running his fingers along her jaw, up and down the length of her neck, he watched her eyes flutter closed. "At least he didn't catch us doing anything else." He leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on her neck, feeling the shutter that went through her.

He leaned back and unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door, climbing out of his car and started to head up to the apartment. Alli wasn't far behind him, he didn't mean to just leave her like that, but, she just made everything so God damn hard, pun intended. The way her long lashes fluttered against her cheeks, the way her long hair fell around her in thick strands, how her long, shapely legs were propped up against his dashboard, giving him a view of her delicious thighs.

He leaned his head against his apartment door, letting the cool, pale painted wood chill the heat radiating from his face. He needed to stop thinking of her in this way, especially when she wanted to wait, which he was fine with...wasn't he?

She came up beside him, place her hand on his back and rubbing soothing circles with her small hand. "You okay?" He nodded, "Yeah, small headache." he unlocked the door and added as a playful after thought, "Probably from all your talking."

Now it was her turn to mock laugh and make a face at him, "Oh, ha ha Johnny, you've gained a sense of humor." she out down her things in the living room and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge and handing it to him. "Drink this, it'll help with your headache."

He shook his head, but took a sip anyway, knowing she was right. He walked over to where she was bending over the couch, pulling things out of her purse that she needed, and wrapped his arms around her waist. She stood up smiling, leaning her head to the side so he could kiss her neck with practiced ease. She turned around in his arms, leaning up on her toes to kiss him hard on the mouth, pulling her arms around his neck to keep herself up. He smirked a bit before deepening the kiss and picking her up bridal style, walking to the bedroom.

Johnny layed her down on the bed, his body covering hers. Her mouth strayed away from his and down to the junction of his jaw, where the jawbone meets the neck. She heard his sharp intake of breath and smiled slightly. His hands wandered from the bed to her hips. He felt the hipbones protruding as the material of the dress lay flush against her body. He pushed his hands up under the dress, feeling her smooth, flat stomach. Now it was his turn to hear her gasp as his hands found the underside of her breasts. Her back arched into his hands, her waist vigorously moving against his own. A low growl escaped from his throat as she wrapped her long legs around him. She could feel him against her, kissing her neck, growling. She wanted him, she wanted him bad.

"John...Johnny." He stopped his attack on her neck and looked into her eyes. "Get up." He looked at her confused but did as she asked. She stood up and slowly unzipped her dress, letting it fall to the floor without a sound, she slipped the black bra off with ease and let it join the dress. She sidled over to him, he stared into her killing jar, her gaze never faltered from his pale face. A shiver ran down his spine, those eyes, those dark eyes, they would be the death of him.

Alli slowly pushed him down onto the bed, setting herself down atop his lap. "Alli..." His voice came out hoarse, his eyes shut. "If we start, I...I dont think I can stop." He held her waist in his hands, opening his eyes, waiting for her to speak.

"Then don't."

His eyes widened, "Really?" She nodded as he picked her up and switched their positions, laying her down on the bed. "I - I want you Johnny, I want this," An idea quickly coming to her, he could tell by the light in her eyes. "for my birthday! I want this for my birthday."

Knowing he wouldn't deny her anything, especially for her birthday, he kissed her senseless, his coarse stubble scraping and burning the delicate skin around her mouth while his tongue fought with hers for dominance. He released her lips and blazed a trail down her neck, sucking and biting, marking her as his. Continuing south, he licked and nipped at her breasts, pulling at her nipples with his teeth, reveling in her whimpers and moans. He stopped again at her navel, dipping his tongue into the little depression and swirling it over her firm stomach, this time causing her to giggle and push at his shoulders. Obviously a ticklish spot. That was good to know for future reference, but at the moment, Johnny wasn't looking to make her laugh. He wanted to make her scream out his name.

At the waistband of her small underwear, he paused for a second, reconciling in his mind what he was about to do. Once he glanced up at her face and saw the hunger and need etched into her beautiful features, he permanently dismissed any fear, hesitation and uncertainty that he might have still harbored about them. There was no way this could be wrong. He decided to just let his body's craving for her take over, and trusted that it would guide him in the right direction.

Alli was getting a taste of her own medicine. Her impatience was showing as she lifted her behind off the bed so that he could finally finish undressing her. He gave her an evil smirk, clearly enjoying the revenge, but inside it was killing him too. He needed to see, touch and taste all of her. Hooking his fingers around the waistband, he pulled the panties down her long, shapely legs.

As she laid fully exposed before him, she watched through hooded eyelids while he ran his hands up and down her legs and then lifted one up over his shoulder. Johnny kissed from her ankle to her calve and then slowly down to her thigh. As he progressed closer and closer to her center, he could feel her body tensing in anticipation. Her heel dug into his back almost to the point of pain when his hand pushed her other leg aside, opening herself to him at last.

Kissing the rest of the way down her thigh, he made himself comfortable while watching her squirm with impatience. He licked his lips, his mouth watering at the sight of her glistening folds. Another glance at her face and he was done torturing both of them. His lips quickly descended and captured her clit between his teeth, gently sucking it into his mouth and flicking his tongue over the sensitive nub.

"Ah…" she yelled followed by a string of incoherent moans and gasps. His tongue ran the length of her folds, dipping inside her tight passage once…twice…and again. "Oh God…Oh God…" she breathed out, her heel digging deeper into his muscular back, her hand grabbing a handful of the long blond curls on his head. When Johnny's lips and tongue moved back to her clit, he upped the ante by slipping a finger into her wetness, followed by another. "Ahh….yes!" she mumbled, thrashing her head back and forth.

He got her with his fingers faster, in perfect time with his tongue lashing across her clit. Alli bucked her hips into him and he found himself having to hold her down with his free hand. Her toes curled, digging her perfectly pedicured nails into his back. He knew she was close.

"God Johnny, don't stop…." she urged, but he wouldn't have stopped in a million years. He was dying to be inside her, but he wanted to watch her get off like this first.

"I want to hear you." he demanded, only pulling his mouth from her for a moment before returning to his relentless assault on her clit. He could feel her walls tightening around his fingers, and he knew she was teetering on the edge.

"Johhny!" she panted, falling over the brink. Her orgasm washed over her in waves, each more powerful than the last.

As her walls clenched and spasmed again and again, he licked and nipped at her folds gently. While riding it out with her, he couldn't help but imagine what it will feel like to have her come like that with him inside her, and it was long past time for him to find out.

While waiting for her to come down and catch her breath, he continued to drop light kisses on her thighs, trying his best to be patient. Although he had already waited two years to have sex with her again, it was becoming torture to hang in there just a few minutes longer. Finally, her eyes opened and she reached down, running her fingers gently through his hair at first, but then turning aggressive a moment later when she grabbed a handful of curls and pulled him up to her, capturing his lips with her own.

He moaned into her mouth, fully conscious of his position between her thighs. It seemed she was aware of it, too, when she broke away from his mouth, staring deeply into his eyes while at the same time drawing both of her legs up his sides to wrap around his waist.

This was it…the point of no return. If they gave themselves to each other in this way, nothing would ever be the same again. He didn't see any fear or uncertainty in her eyes, but he had to be sure. "Alli," He whispered, his lips only inches from his. "Are you…"

"Shh," she hissed abruptly, cutting him off with another deep kiss. That was all the reassurance he needed.

They had been in this position a few of times, but somehow had always managed to stop himself from going any further. This time, however, stopping was the furthest thing from his mind, especially when he felt her reach down to grasp his hardness and lead him to her entrance. He bit his lip, fighting for control over both his body and his emotions. The moment the head of his length met with her warm wetness, he was lost to her forever. Instinct took over as he slowly pushed himself inside her, burying himself to the hilt. There was no way to describe the sensation of her tight walls surrounding him, and he had to take a moment to revel in the feeling and regain some semblance of control.

Alli sighed as he filled her, stretched her, completing her to perfection. For no longer than a split second, she couldn't help but notice the sharp contrast between the angry, sarcastic, intense Johnny and the soft, gentle, delicate Johnny. Her brief mental comparison ended there, though, when gazing up at him, she became hopelessly mesmerized by the look of concentration on his beautiful face. It was as if he was holding himself back by a thread, but she was getting impatient and needed him to let go and move. A single buck of her hips against his snapped him loose, and still staring her in the eyes, he pulled almost all the way out and slowly pushed back into her.

The friction of his first stroke had him gasping, and he had to have more. Again, he pulled out and buried himself deeply within her, this time a little faster. Seeing her eyes squeeze shut and a her nails drag over his shoulders, he drove into her a third time, harder and faster yet again. It was only due to years of practice controlling his urges that he'd lasted even this long.

Establishing a steady rhythm, he plunged in and out of her, increasing his speed little by little, her hips working to meet his every stroke. "Faster…" she groaned, tightening her legs around his waist even more. He could only comply.

As his thrusts became deeper, more insistent and aggressive, he could already feel the tightening below that forewarned his release. It was too soon, so he pulled out of her, eliciting a groan from her soft lips. She opened her eyes and looked at him questioningly, but quickly got the idea when he got up and sat up, leaning back against the headboard, pulling her along with him to straddle his hips. Alli wasted no time in sinking herself down onto his hard shaft, clutching his shoulders and digging her nails into his skin.

Johnny held her hips tightly as she rode him, matching her movements with counter thrusts of his own. Her pace was frantic, clearly loving the position of control and using it to her advantage to bring herself closer to her orgasm. She whimpered, moaned and called out breathlessly incoherent nonsense interspersed with his name. He knew she was close, recognizing the trembling of her body and the short, labored breaths she was fighting so hard for.

It wouldn't be long for him, either. If he hadn't learned to control himself and be patient, it would have already been over long ago, but by now, he could feel his control rapidly slipping away. She just needed a little push to reach her peak, so releasing one hand from her hip, he let it drift down to where they were joined.

Alli was riding him wildly now, and didn't even notice his hand move to her center until she felt the first jolt of electricity shoot through her when his rough fingertips brushed her clit. "God, more…" she demanded, and it was his pleasure to follow her orders. He worked his hand in time with each thrust up into her, intuitively feeling how close she was.

As her climax gripped her in its clutches, words were lost to her. She leaned down, capturing his lips, biting, nipping and moaning, tongue delving into his mouth insistently while she allowed the waves to crash over her.

Johnny was still thrusting deeply into her, kissing her passionately as she came down from her high. Regaining her breath, Alli pulled back and locked eyes with him, a her sights now intently set on a new mission to make him lose his mind. He returned her stare, picking up the pace, beyond ready to relinquish himself over to her. The sensation of her hot sex clenching and rippling around him as she came was even more amazing than he could have possibly imagined. His heart was pounding in his chest and beads of sweat trailed down his face and body. He kept a firm hold on her hips, guiding her in short, fast strokes. Eyes squeezed shut and head thrown back to rest on the headboard, the tightening between his legs became stronger with every shallow breath .

"Johnny…look at me…I want you to look at me when you come," Alli pleaded as she wound her fingers through his hair and lifted his head. He opened his eyes to meet hers, paralyzed by the extent of the lust and hunger he found there. She had pushed him to the edge of ecstasy and he was about to jump. His thrusts became increasingly hard and erratic and she met each one with everything she had, determined to give him the pleasure he'd given her. "Let go, Johnny…just let go."

He had never heard anything so erotic in his life and it proved to be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he drove himself powerfully up into her one last time. His body tensed, his teeth clenched and his eyes rolled back in his head as he sucked in his shallow breath. It seemed that time stopped around them as he froze his movements, holding her in place while buried to the hilt within her depths.

Only a split-second later, his body began to convulse as he found his release, spilling deep inside her. He somehow found his voice again but couldn't yet form coherent thoughts, her name and a string of profanity the only recognizable words to fall from his lips while he thrashed and gasped and moaned in the throes of the most intense orgasm of his life.

Alli smoothed a lock of sweaty hair off his forehead as she studied him in the soft light while he rode out the aftershocks of his climax. She could tell he had finally returned to Earth when his eyes focused on hers and he smiled up at her.

She shifted off of him, laying down on the other side of the bed, the sheets unbelievably cool, or maybe her body heat was just so hot. He scooted down and layed beside her, bringing her closer to him, she grasped his hand in hers and smiled. She turned her face to his and kissed him softly, lightly, she didn't think after what they had just experienced he could take much more.

"Thank you."

He smirked, "Your welcome, but what are you thanking me for?"

She rolled her eyes, "For the best sex of my life, obviously." he raised a brow at her. "I'm just kidding, well not really, but for making my birthday wonderful."

Johnny smiled down at her, "Well, for that you are welcome." she snuggled into him, forgoing the sheets because her body was still much to hot for anything to lying on top of it...unless it was Johnny.

* * *

She awoke to the smell of greatly cooked food, she wasn't sure what it was exactly, but she knew it smelled delicious. She streched in the bed, looking at the clock, which read _9:04,_ and stood, poking her head out the door to make sure no one was here this morning except her and Johnny, she walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, naked.

Johnny was standing at the stove, in his boxers, with his back to her, singing some song low under his breath. On the table was a standard birthday breakfast of eggs, bacon, french toast, and orange juice. Two places were set, a vase with wild flowers sat in the middle, and on one of the plates, the one meant for her, was a teal frosted cupcake. She couldn't help the wide smile that had taken over her face, she bit her lip to try and contain it, but she couldn't. She went and sat down, trying to make as little noise as possible, but of course, he heard her.

"Good morning Backwoods."

He didn't turn around, just trying to show off that he had good hearing. "Morning Johnny. God, this looks delicious."

"It better be, I spent forever making it when I could've been sleeping." She knew he didn't mean it, he didn't mind waking up early to surprise her with breakfast. "Dig in Backwoods, I'm almost done making this and then I'll sit with you."

"Your not eating?" She started to shovel food on her plate, after removing the perfect teal cupcake and placing it beside her with a smile. "No, I already ate." She was wondering when he was going to actually turn around and notice her.

Going around without clothes on was actually quite freeing, she mused while eating her breakfast, her boyfriend blissfully ignorant. She now knew why young children loved to run around without clothes, why the detested them so. She was finishing up eating when Johnny finally decided to turn around, pan in one hand, spatula in the other, his mouth hanging open as his eyes went wide.

"Wha - "

"What?" She looked at him innocently as she picked up the cupcake and licked the frosting off of her finger slowly. She put down the cupcake and looked back up at him, but was startled by the clanging sound of the pan hitting the floor. "Johnn - "

She was cut off by his mouth descending upon hers, fiercely and demanding. There was no question about who was in charge at that moment. Her hands found there was up to his neck, threading her long fingers into his curls. His rough hands made their way to her hips, rubbing harsh circles with his thumbs on her delicate skin. His hands were attempting to make there way down her flat stomach when a sound erupted from the table behind them. Alli broke away from him and walked over to the couch in the living room picking up her cell phone quickly.

"Hello?" She glanced at Johnny. "Oh, hey Jean." His eyes turned a dark blue as they narrowed at Alli.

"What does she want?" She put her hand up to silence him as she sat down in the abandoned chair. "Yes, we'll be there around twelve." She paused, waiting for Jean to finish, a look to Johnny could see that he was agitated with his Mother's timing. "Yeah, that's not a problem Jean, I'll tell him to bring it. Okay, love you too, bye." She hung up the phone and sighed, rubbing a hand over her face before looking up at Johnny's frustrated face.

"We have to be there around twelve, awesome." He walked over to her and pulled her up from the chair and into his arms. Alli rolled her eyes and jumped forward, pressing her lips against his so hard they almost toppled over. His hands roamed her upper body, finally settling on her waist, stroking her hips gently. He then tangled his fingers into her long tresses, forcefully bringing her swollen lips up to meet his. He continued his assault on her full lips and she let out a sigh. Alli moaned into his mouth as his hands fell from her dark hair and connected with her bare chest. He cupped and squeezed, making her head loll back from the sensations he was creating.

'_This boy was too good with his hands.' _Was the only coherent thought she could form.

His lips left hers, trailing down her neck, and settling on her chest. She shuddered as he pulled one of her exposed nipples into his mouth, lightly running his tongue in circles around the tip. "Oh god, John-ney." She mumbled, tangling her fingers in his curls. His mouth moved from one breast to the other, sucking and licking.

His rough, calloused hands moved down lower, lower still. She couldn't hold back the moan from the sudden contact. His fingers just felt too good. "God Al, you're so wet." He muttered against her skin, trailing kisses along her chest and up to her neck. She finally found the strength to whisper, and he froze as soon as the words left her mouth, "Fuck me Johnny."

He stood up straight, walking around her and leaving her, puzzled, in the middle of the kitchen.  
She watched him walk to the table, lifting it up enough to let everything on it fall to the floor.  
Alli's jaw dropped as the vase shattered.

"Johnny, what are you - ?" He silenced her with his lips again, lifting her into his arms and plopping her down on the kitchen table.

Her eyes raked over his naked body as soon as he kicked his boxers off and pushed her flat on her back. "I like this aggressive side of you." She grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck as he braced himself above her.

"Yeah, well…I thought sex on the kitchen table would be fun."

Alli giggled and pecked his lips quickly. "Oh believe me, it will be." He grinned and dropped his voice a few octaves, making sure it was extra-husky sounding before speaking again. "Are you ready for me to rock your world?" A fit of giggles took her over and he rolled his eyes, trying to send her a glare. "I'm trying to be sexy here, Al…don't just shoot me down."

She grinned, tugging on his hands. "I'm sorry, Johnny. You're sexy, believe me. I mean, you're naked…so yeah, you're sexy." He sighed and shook his head.

"Can we just get on with it?" She nodded and brushed her lips against his quickly.

Wrapping her legs around his waist, she angled herself so he could gain better entrance. She let out another satisfied moan as he pushed himself up into her and began pumping in and out at an incredibly fast pace. "Oh god…"

She let her head fall back on the table, arching her back and wrapping her long legs tighter around his body. He slammed into her, again and again. Sending her closer to that ecstasy they both needed to feel. She shut her eyes, wrapping her fingers in his hair and pulling his face back to hers in a hungry kiss. His hand roamed back down south again, causing her breath to hitch in her throat when he started rubbing her. "Oh, god…" She moaned out again, loving the way his fingers felt all over her and the way he felt inside her.

"Scream my name, Alli." He whispered roughly in her ear, taking her earlobe in his mouth and nibbling gently. "Make me." She responded weakly, still moving her lithe body with his. His pace increased, and she arched her back even more as he pounded into her even harder, sending her closer to the edge.

"Oh my god, Johnny, harder." Somehow, he did just that, moving harder inside of her and moving his hand faster in circles against her sensitive skin. She was almost there. Taking in a deep breath, her walls clenched around him and she ran her fingers down to his lower back, pulling him farther inside of her as she continued riding the wave. Oh yeah, she was definitely screaming his name now.

His movements stopped and he took in deep breaths as he hovered above her, staring into her dark eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck, still not letting her legs fall from around him.

He was still inside her as she pulled his lips down to hers and kissed him hard. Her hands snuck out to meet his and his hands roamed again, resting on her heaving chest.

"You're so fucking..." He whispered, pulling away out and planting sweet kisses on her neck, not able to finish as his hands continued exploring.

"Mmm, so are you. That was amazing, we deffinately have to do this more often." He chuckled and nodded his head in agreement. "I wouldn't be opposed to that."

Sighing, he slowly moved his body away from hers and stood in front of her. He reached down, pulling her into his arms again and planting his lips on hers briefly.

* * *

Somehow they had made it to his Mother's house around twelve, after Alli had taken her shower, and Johnny had almost finished his shower when she had jumped in, and they she had to take another shower. Then the getting dressed, that was another difficult thing to accomplish, seeing as they couldn't take their hand off the other. Johnny had grabbed his tool kit, which was what Jean had called for earlier and they had made it out the door, with five minutes to spare.

When they pulled up to his Mother's small off-yellow house, she immediately noticed the cars that lined the street, and started to get excited. She could hear Aaron yelling from inside when she stepped out of Johnny's car, she wasn't sure what he was yelling about but she knew it could only mean Jean made him wear a shirt.

Johnny held the door open for her to let her walk in first, she noticed that Johnny had spoken extra loud when he opened the door and how it seemed to get eerily quiet as she entered. They walked down the stairs to the basement living room and she was greeted by a wonderful sight.

Streamers and balloons were set up around the room, teal and yellow, her favorite colors. A cake sat on the coffee table, along with an assortment of foods and drinks, the stereo was even playing a mixed CD of all her favorite songs, but only the ones that Johnny would actually be caught dead listening to. Bruce and Eloise stood by the coffee table, drinks in their hands, smiling, Jean was busy fixing the trays of food she had put out around the room, Aaron sat on the couch, his arms crossed angrily over his shirt clad chest and next to him sat...Jenna?

Jenna was the first one to notice Alli and stood excitedly, "Alli! Happy Birthday!" Bruce and Eloise turned and smiled wide, following with the birthday wishes, Jean was next, bustling over to hug Alli tightly. Aaron was last and surprised Alli by walking over to where she stood and handed her a gift, he stood with a shy smile on his face, for once not being a jerk.

"Here, I know its not really present time yet, but I wanted to be the first to give you one."

She smiled wide and opened the present quickly, laughing loudly as she looked at it. It was an Indian Barbie, that did in fact strike an uncanny resemblance to her. The Barbie's name was written on the box, Ayesha, but the 'yesha' was crossed out and 'lli' was written above it. She looked up to Aaron, biting her lip to keep from smiling to hard.

"I, uh, didn't know your full name so I just put Alli." He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck, almost like he was nervous. "And, she was dressed in the wrong clothes, I know how you only wear 'cute' clothes so I replaced them with my other Barbie's clothes."

She raised an eyebrow and giggled, "You have other Barbies?"

"Don't judge me." He said quickly.

Bruce came and hip-checked Aaron out of the way so he could hug Alli, "Alright creep, you've had enough time to be weird, now its my turn." he took her in his arms and hugged her tight. "Happy Birthday Princess."

"Thanks Bruce."

He let go of her and Eloise hugged her next, "Happy Birthday Alli, its wonderful to see you again." Alli smiled at the small blond, her hair had purple and blue streaks in it this time.

"Thanks Eloise, it great to see you too."

She turned to the other blond and smiled wide, "Jenna, what are you doing here?" Jenna smiled, "You didn't think I'd miss your other party, did you?"

They made their way into the room, Jean came to hug her and handed her a cupcake, running up the stairs when the oven timer 'dinged'. Alli sat down on the couch with Jenna, eating her cupcake and watching as Johnny talked to Bruce and Eloise. No, this party wasn't as elaborate as her real party, there weren't as many people or presents, but that didn't mean she didn't love it all the same. She chatted with Bruce, eating the trays of food Jean had put out for them, she dance with Jenna and Eloise as the CD kept on playing her favorite songs, she laughed with Aaron about the reruns of The Nanny, which he happened to also have a secret love for and even played Barbies with him for a little while before laughing to hard at the absurdity of it all. And Eloise walked around, taking pictures of everyone, capturing this day in history, making sure it had really happened, because she couldn't have asked for a better birthday.

When Jean had finally lit the candles on the home-made birthday cake and dimmed the lights, Alli had wondered where the time had went. They started the chorus of 'Happy Birthday' and she couldn't wipe the smile off her face, Johnny was holding his hand in hers and kissed her cheek lightly after they stopped singing.

"Aww, Johnny, stop you're gonna make me puke." Bruce laughed loudly and turned to high-five Aaron who was laughing as well.

"Bruce Malcolm, quiet or you don't get any cake." Bruce pouted and looked apologetically at Jean, but winked at Alli. "Sorry Mama D."

Jean sliced the cake and passed it out, putting Alli on the sofa and everyone else on the floor, so she could open her presents while eating, the Alli Barbie sitting next to her. "Okay, this one is from all of us." Jean handed her a floral wrapped package and Alli looked at it suspiciously.

"Is this what I think it is?" Jean shrugged her thin shoulders, "Open it and find out."

Alli teared at the wrapping and smiled terribly wide, it was a pair of strappy yellow heels, easily making her as tall as Johnny. She had been admiring them one time in the malll when she was with Johnny, she knew he bought them at the demand of his Mother.

"Oh, God, yes!"

Johnny closed his eyes and tried to will himself to calm down when he heard her exclaim that, bringing back memories from this morning that he didn't not want to relive in front of his Mother.

"Do you love them?" Jean asked excitedly, Alli shot up and hugged her tightly. "Yes!"

To prove her point, she sat back down and threw off her black flats and buckled the cannery yellow heels on right then. Johnny had to admit, the looked brillant against her dark skin. "Thank you Jean, so much!"

"Here, mine next." Jenna thrust a present in her lap, "Jenna, you didn't have to get me anything else." the blond rolled her eyes, "Oh Alli, shut up and open it." As if the earring and necklace weren't enough, Jenna had also gotten her a turquoise sundress to wear with her new yellow heels.

Eloise was the next to give her a present, she handed it to her almost shyly, it felt heavy and Alli wasn't sure what to expect. "At first I wasn't sure what to give you, but then it occurred to me that I had the perfect thing." Alli tore the paper off quickly and gasped at what Eloise had thoughtfully given her.

The black book had her name written in gold letters, when she opened it she was bombarded with pictures of her and Johnny at the concert. There were some of her leaning against the car, looking idly at the arena, her dancing with Johnny, her legs around his hips, looking into his eyes and smiling wide. There were even some of her and Bruce posing silly, and her on Bruce's shoulders watching the concert. She smiled bright and looked up to Eloise, no one had been so thoughtful as to make her a scrapbook before, and it touched her that the small blond had thought to do so.

"Thank you Eloise, really, its beautiful."

Eloise smiled from her seat, "Well its not finished, at least, I hope its not. I would love to take more pictures of you and of course I'll add the ones from today in there."

"Of course, you can take pictures of me anytime you want, and I would love that."

And she meant it, she hadn't expected to make such good friends with the girl, it was all by accident really, but now she would never have believed her life with out her. Moose handed her a homemade card, a picture of a Moose and a dark skinned Princess that looked like it was drawn by a small child, his signature at the bottom. She laughed, kissing his cheek and tucking the card in the scrapbook. "Thank you Bruce."

Johnny quickly handed her a box, the kind of black velvet that showed it was very expensive. She raised her dark brows in questioning and he rolled his pale eyes, opening the box she looked back up at him confused. He sighed and pushed off the door frame he was leaning on, coming to stand in front of her. He took the box from her hands and held it in his own, taking out the ring he placed it on her right ring finger, the silver band gleaming against the dark of her skin.

"Its a promise ring, not like the one Clare has, its.." He looked behind him at where his Mother was looking up at him with big eyes and a dreamy smile from where she sat on a chair, Jenna and Eloise looked up at him with the same expression, Bruce looked in confusion, and Aaron was grinning at him, trying to make him nervous. "I always promise to love you, there."

He said it quickly, it all coming out in one big jumble. But Alli caught it and she smile softly up at him, her eyes smiling as well. She stood and kissed him softly, "Thank you."

"Your welcome."

Oh, he was so getting thanked later, in the best kind of way. And for once in his life, he was actually glad he listened to his Mother.


End file.
